Campaign: Let's Say Thanks To Our Troops
Winners: Xerox Corporation and Give2TheTroops
By early 2006, 150,000 United States men and women had been deployed to the Middle East, and Xerox Corporation wanted to find a way to show appreciation for their
service. Following the success of its "Let's Say Thanks" community card drives in Atlanta and Phoenix, which resulted in the delivery of thousands of postcards overseas,
company executives sought to build the program into a national initiative.
The Xerox team conducted a careful search to locate an appropriate partner - a military support organization with access to all branches of the military, the ability to
deliver messages of support to deployed troops and the ability to do so on a consistent basis - and they found one in Give2TheTroops.
The PR team then chose the ultimate communications vehicle for reaching a distant, largely dispersed audience: the Internet. The resulting Web site, http://www.LetsSayThanks.com, enabled visitors to send a cyber postcard to the troops. To bolster the appeal of each card, the team
worked with community organizations to get children to submit patriotic drawings; a university design professor judged entries, and winners were posted on the Web site.
The PR team used non-traditional viral marketing techniques that would reach all corners of cyberspace and increase traffic to the site. Pass-along e-mails, a "Send to a
Friend" link on the site, and military and artwork contest-winning spokespeople generated the outreach needed to drive traffic to LetsSayThanks.com.
The Xerox/Give2TheTroops effort well surpassed goals, and the program helped build Xerox's brand awareness around a socially responsible mission, engaging employees
nationwide by using the company's intranet and a communications vehicle.
The site got traffic from all 50 states and averaged 125,000 daily visitors. The initiative resulted in 2 million messages being delivered to the inboxes of servicemen
and women: a "Thank You" heard 'round the world.
Honorable Mentions - Corporate Partners
The "Tsuanami Relief Project: Operation Kids & XanGo - It Makes a Village" provided shelter and rebuilt a Thai village for refugees of the 2005 tsunami with 32
houses, a community center, school, boat-building facility and waterway to the sea.
Honeywell Hometown Solutions joined the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to create the "Got 2B Safe! Think Smart, Take Charge" program to teach
children 8-10 how to avoid being abducted or sexually exploited. The campaign incentivized teachers with a classroom makeover competition.
MTV and United Way of America teamed to help young people participate in community service projects with "Storm Corps," a Spring Break campaign that helped rebuild
storm-affected communities damaged in hurricanes.
Avnet and Maricopa Community College District increased awareness of community colleges' need for contributions through the Avent Tech Games, an Olympics-style academic
competition that earned $150,000 in donations.
The Marine Toys for Tots Foundation and Mail Boxes Etc. "Deliver Some Love" campaign drove media exposure around the 2005 holidays, selling donation cards and leveraging
a NASCAR sponsorship and PSAs. $600,000 created a Merry Christmas for children.